Giant panda Eimei checks out his Father’s Day gift at the Adventure World amusement park in Japan’s Wakayama prefecture in June 2022. The 30-year-old father of 16 will return to China with his twins Ouhin and Touhin on Wednesday. Photo: VCG

Giant panda cub Xiang Xiang plays with her mother Shin Shin at Tokyo’s Ueno Zoological Gardens in February 2018. Xiang Xiang was born on June 12, 2017, after being conceived through natural mating at the zoo. She will return to China on Tuesday. Photo: VCG

Xiang Xiang plays at the zoo in June 2018. Photo: VCG

Xiang Xiang frolics in the rain in June 2019. Photo: Natsuki Sakai/VCG

Xiang Xiang takes a stroll through her enclosure in June 2019. The giant panda’s return date has been postponed several times due to Covid-19. Photo: Natsuki Sakai/VCG

Zoo visitors check out Xiang Xiang in June 2020. The giant panda turned 5 years old last year. Photo: VCG

Giant pandas Kang Kang (left) and Lan Lan arrived at the Ueno Zoological Gardens in October 1972. They were the first pair of giant pandas China lent to Japan to commemorate the normalization of relations between the two countries. Photo: VCG